Wednesday, January 17, 2007

"Sports executives are not doing this for the ministry..."

The Colorado Rockies have changed their low-key "Christian Family Day" to "Faith Day,' and it is now an all-out promotion. "Sports executives are not doing this for the ministry," according to Brent High, president of Third Coast Sports, a Nashville, Tenn., company hired to host some of the Christian events. "They are doing it strictly for the business opportunity, to increase attendance and associated revenue."

The Rockies' Christian Family Day included giving church groups discounted tickets, presenting a pre-game show of Christian music, and providing Christian "testimonies" from players and coaches.

Though the event is now called "Faith Day," there is speculation that it will continue to be about Christians. High says that his company, Third Coast Sports, is effective in "driving fans to the stadium." "Christians," he says, "are a "powerful organized demographic" that can be courted without fear of alienating the fan base. High is oppposed to including other faiths in "faith days" because, he says:

People are tied to their beliefs, and the second we start celebrating the Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist faiths together, this idea will dry up and blow away. People are all for political correctness and for being unified. But there are still divisions, huge differences in beliefs, and to bring them together is not going to work. It's the same reason why all these people don't meet together on Sunday mornings.

Religious promotions have long been popular in the minor leagues, but have now crept into major league baseball. Baseball-loving Christians apparently do not mind being exploited for marketing purposes.